Packer for oil-wells.



C. H. SHEASLEY.,

PAcKER FOR olL WELLS.

APPLICATION FILED 0018.191?. L262,1@7 Patented Apr. 9,1918.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEEI I.

MNM/e II IIHIIII C. H. SHEASLEY.

PACKER FUR 0lL WELLS.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.8,19Iz.

19% 2 l O?, Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. H. SHESLEY.

PACKER FOR OIL WELLS.

, APPLICATION FILED ocT. 8. I9I7.

Patented. Apl'. 9, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. 1

nnrrnn enanas Partnr innatoo CHARLES H. SHEASLEY, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO PRODUCERS SUPPLY COMPANY, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF ENN- SYLVANIA.

.PACKER FOR OIL-WELLS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Apra 9, i918,

` Application led October 8, 1917. Serial No. 195,452.

To all whom t may Concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. SHEAsLnr,

a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Franklin, Venango county, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Packers for Oil-llfells, which invention is fully set forth in the following specification.

rlhis invention relates to packers for oilwells, and has for its objects, generally stated, to simplify the construction of such packers, cheapen their cost, facilitate their introduction into and withdrawal from the well, and increase their eliiciency of operation when in position in the well.

Many oil-wells at the present time produce but an extremely small quantity of oil, and it is therefore essential that the cost of operation should he reduced to the minimum, in order that they may be operated at a profit. Packers are one ot the elements involved in the cost ot operation, and it is not only essential, therefore, that the first cost ot the packers should be small, but that they should be capable ot being withdrawn tor cleaning the well or tor repair purposes, or otherwise. These objects must be accomplished without iin-pairing the eticiency or the packers in their operation ot closing the well against the downward passage ot water ,from the upper strata into the oil bearing portion ot the well. rlhese features ot s implicity ot construction, low cost and etlicient operation ot the packers are important, of course, even in wells of large production. But in wells ot entrernelysmall production, the cost of operation must be reduced toa very small figure, or the well cannot be operated at all.

il] ith the objects ahove set forth, the present invention, generally stated,- consists in a tubular element (which may or may not he a section of the well-tubing) provided with an upper and a lower shoulder rigid therewith, and a packing-ring ot suitable material, such as rubber, surrounding and longitudinally movable on said tubular element into contact with said shoulders (that is, into Contact with the upper shoulder when the ring is moved to its upper position, and into? Contact with the lower shoulder when the ring is moved to its lowermost position) and exposed to the direct action of the upper column of water in the well. Preferably, the packing-ring is provided with an outwardly flaring annular lip to embrace the upper shoulder on the tubular member when the packer is being placed in the well, and said shoulder may, if desired', be dared upwardly and outwardly in the shape of an inverted iirustum of a cone, though this is not essential. lVhen the packer is in position in the well, a column ot water engages the interior surface ot said lip and acts to force the lip irmly into packing relation with the interior wall ot' the well, and also to torce the packing-ring down against the lower shoulder on the tubular element, and

the great hydrostatic pressure acts to compress the ring and cause it to effectively pack the joint between the wall of .the well and the ring, and the joint between said ring and the tubular element. rllhe direct action ot the water on the packing-ring, without the intervention ot any metallic or other rigid element, is of much importance, since such rigid intermediate device would act to bind the lip or the packing-ring between the said element and the wall or" the well, and thereby prevent the lip from entering any irregularities or eccentricities in 'the wall with close enough contact to pro-duce ettlcient packing,

The tubular element which is surrounded by and carries the packing-ring may be and frequently is the well-tubing inserted in the well and the upper and lower shoulders hetween which the packing-ring is mounted, and has longitudinal movement, may he formed on ordinary pipe couplings; in tact,

may be simply the end of the respective pipe couplings.

wWhen the well is of any considerable diameter, however, it is much more economical to construct said tubular element'in the form of a sleeve surrounding the well-tubing and supported thereon through the medium of a suitably formed coupling, or otherwise. lin this case, the coupling or other support for the sleeve may have one of the shoulders for coperationwith thepacking-ring formed thereon, and the other shoulders may be formed or supported on the sleeve.l The end of the sleeve where itis secured to the coupling or other support is closed to prevent the passage ot water through the sleeve, and

the other end 'is preferably left open. Such open end may be either the upper or the lower end, as desired. The supporting coul' pling may also be provided with an opening therethrough, in which is inserted a pipe to permit the escape of gas which accumulates below the apacking; or an automatic valve may be provided in the coupling which permits the gas to escape upward through the well-tubing.

The inventive idea involved is capable of receiving a variety of mechanical expressions, some of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be expressly understood that such drawings are for the purpose of illustration only, vand, are not meant to define the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

1n such drawingss Figure 1 is a side elevation, parts being broken away, showing the form which the invention may assume when the well-tubing constitutes the tubular element upon which the packing-ring moves longitudinally between the upper and lower shoulders;

Fig. 2 is a central, vertical section of Fig. 1, the well-tubing being shown in elevation, and the packing-ring shown in theposition which it assumes when it' is being inserted in thev well;

Fig. 3 is alike view'with the packing-ring in the position which it assumes when in packing position in the well;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1,- but illustrating a slightly di'erent form of upper and lower shoulders;

Fig. 5 is a detail showing still another form of shoulder that may be employed;

Fig. 6 is a detail illustrating one of several forms of the shoulder that may be employed on the lowermost section of the wellcasmg; i

Fig. 7 is a view desi ed to illustrate the fact that the extentl o longitudinal movement of the packing-ring upon the tubular element may be small;

Fig. 8 is a view, partly in central section and partly in elevat1onshowing a tube coupling supporting a downwardly extending tubular element upon which the packing' ring is located, said tubular element Abeing open at the bottom and permitting passage of the gas to a gas escape pipe carried by the coupling; v

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8, showing the tubular -element open at ythe top rather thanv the bottom, and having the gas escape pipe extending therethrough;

Fig. 10 is a vertical, longitudinal section f of a simple forml of the invention employing the tubular sleeve opening downward, and

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10, showing said. sleeve opening upward;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 10, illus? rasato? trating the use of an automatic valve carried by the coupling for permitting the escape of gas into the well-tubing, and Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 11, showing an automatic Valve for a like purpose;

Fig.A 14 is a vertical, longitudinal section with parts in elevation, showing another form which the packing-ring may assume; Fig. 15 is a view of the packing-ring on .an upwardly opening sleeve, which ring, however, is capable of but slight longitudinal movement on the sleeve; and

Fig. 16 is a view in side elevation, with parts broken ,away, of the construction shown in Fig. 15, with the ring compressed when in packing position.

Referring to the several views of thel 'tubing, as will be readily understood. The

upper coupling 2 is provided with any suitable shoulder 4, and in the present instance this shoulder is shown as flaring outwardly and upwardly in the form of ,an inverted frustum of .a cone, and preferably said shoulder is undercut, as shown at 5. The coupling 3 is provided with any 'suitably formed shoulder 6, which as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, is in the form of a horizontal shoulder, but which, if desired, may be undercut, as shown at 7 in Fig. 4, or it may be otherwise formed. Surrounding the tubular element 1, between the shoulders 4 and 6, is a packing-ring 7, preferably of elastic material, such as rubber, which ring is preferably provided with an outwardly flaring, upwardly extending annular lip 8 surrounding and embracing the shoulder 4 on the coupling 2 when the ring is in its uppermost position shown in Fig. 1, and if the shoulder is undercut, as shown in Figs.

2 and 3, there is also preferably provided an upwardly extending, inwardly sloping lip 9 entering the undercut portion of the shoulder. 1f desired, however, the packing ring may bev provided only with the outwardly flaring lip 8 to embrace the upper. shoulder,

and this upper shoulder may be made approximately squared or horizontal, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7 at 10, and engaging a corincarna readily understood from an inspection ot the last-named figure.

1f the packer is to be placed at the er.- treme lower end of the well-casing, at which point the casing is generally provided with a dared end cr mouth, the lower shoulder may be, and preferably is, formed by means of any suitable collar 18 driven or shrunken or otherwise secured on the well-casing on the lower end thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 6.

Referring to Fig. 8, 14, 14 are sections of the well-tubing coupled together by a coupling 15, which coupling is provided with a downwardly extending tubular portion 16, here shown as integral with the coupling 15, though, if desired, said tubular portion may be formed separate from the coupling proper, and screw-threaded or otherwise secured thereto. Such construction is shown in inverted form in Fig. 9, in which the tubular portion 16 is screwthreaded into a coupling Referring again to Fig. 8, the packingring 7 surrounds the tubular element 16, and is provided with upwardly flaring lip portions on its upper edge corresponding to those shown in Fig. 1. Coupling 15 is provided with a downwardly facingshoulder 4', which in this case is not shown as daring outwardly and upwardly, as in Fig. 1, the same being merely designed to illustrate the fact that a variety of forms of shoulders may be employed as desired. A gas pipe 17 is fitted into a conical socket 18, in the bottom of which there is a port or opening 19 leading to the interior of the tubular element 16, which is open at its bottom, to the end that gas in the well below the packing `may rise up through the tubular element and escape through the pipe 17.

@n the lower end of the tubular element 16 there is a collar secured preferably by being screw-threaded thereon, which collar forms a lower shoulder 6, and the packingring 7 is capable of longitudinal movement on the tubular element 16 between the shoulders 4 and 6', as will be readily understood Referring to Fig. 9, it will be seen that it is hut an inversion of Fig. 8, so to speak. 1n this case, the coupling 15 carries the lower shoulder; the tubular element 16" is carried by said coupling, and projects up-Y ward therefrom, and is open at its upper end and provided with an upper shoulder thereon. rll`he gas pipe 17 passes downward through the tubular element or sleeve 16', and is supported or carried by the coupling 15, through which is ing or port 19.

1n case the'gas escape pipe is not employed, a simplified form of coupling by means of which the tubular element or sleeve is carried by the well-tubing is illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11. lin Fig, 10 the the gas escape open- ,y

coupling 20 for securing the two sections 14,14, of the well-tubing together, has an enlarged lower portion provided with inform being shown at 23. Between the up-,

per and lower shoulders on the tubular element 21 isv'the packing-ring 7 of substantially the character shown in Fig. 8.

Referring to Fig. 11, and comparing the same with Fig. 1.0, it will be seen that the construction therein shown is substantially an inversion of Fig. 10, so that the sleeve 21 is open at the top in Fig. 11, instead of at the bottom as in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a construction in all respects similar to that shown inl Fig. 10, except that there is formed in the coupling 20 a passage 24 leading from the interior of the tubular element 21 into the interior of the coupling 20. 1n this passage 24 there is located a ball valve 25 controlling a port 26. Formed on the interior of the coupling is an annular groove 27 communicating with the passage 24 through means of a port 28. p

Since the screw-threaded connections between the well-tubing and the coupling are slightly conical, the inward movement of said sections is limited, so that the ends of said sections do not meet, and thus there is afforded direct communication through the passage 24, the ports 26 and 28, andthe annular groove 27 hetween the interior of the sleeve 21 and the interior of the well-tubing. TW hen pumping is in progress, the valve permits gas to escape from below the paclring directly into the welltubing and upward with the oil.

Fig. 13 corresponds to Fig. 11, showing a ball valve 25 for permitting the escape of the gas through a passage 24 in the coupling directly into the well-tubing, as will be readily understood.

ln some cases, to secure greater certainty of edective packing, it is desirableto form the packing-ring with a plurality of upwardly extending and outwardly tiaring lips, and such construction is shown in Fig. 14, in which the packing-ring 29 is shown as being provided with two such upwardly projecting and outwardly ilaring `lips 30, 30", one above the other, the upper one in engagement with the shoulder 23 on the coupling 20, as in Fig. 10. This avoids defective packing due t0 irregularities in the i wall of the well, forms a more idexible packing, and serves to decrease the pressure of the water below the packing on the lip 30 whn the packing is being inserted in the we Fig. 15 is similar to Fig. 11, and is designed to illustrate thefact that the distance through which the packing-ring may move between the upper and the lower shoulders on the tubular element 21 may be greatly decreased from that shown in all of the other v figures, except Fig. '7.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that my improved packer is capable of being embodied in an extremely simple, highly eflicient and yet cheaply constructed form. Thus, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7, it may simply consist of a packing-ring longitudinally movable on a short section of the welltubing between shoulders formed on couplings for said tubing. As the packer is being inserted in the well, the upper shoulder enters the flared lip portion of the packingring, and expands its outer periphery into contact with the wall of the well, and the downward motion of the well-tubing as it is in the act of being inserted into the well holds the parts in this position, which position is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, A4 and 7. When the tubing has reached the desired position in the well, it is anchored or suspended in any suitable way, and when the pumping action begins, the pressure below the packing-ring is decreased, and the hydrostatic pressure above the ring acts to force the ring downward into contact with the lower shoulder rigidly formed on the tubular element. rlihis pressure is very great, and acts to highly compress the ring, and to force it into intimate contact with the wall of the well and with the exterior surface of the tubular element, thus efficiently packing both of these joints against the passage of water. This position of the packing-ring is clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 16, from which its l action in the various forms shown in the other figures will be readily understood.

The wall of the oil-well frequently has irregularities present therein, such irregularities being due`to ecentricities in the well or the breaking out of pebbles or shale when the well is being bored. If any rigid following element were imposed upon the packing-ring, and particularly if such following element entered the groove in the top of the packing-ring, it would actl to seize theI entire periphery of the packing-ring between said following element and the wall of the well, and if the irregularities, eccentricities or pits in the well occurred opposite said lip, the latter would be restrained by this seizure thereof through the medium of the following element, and'prevented from efficiently entering such irregularities. By subjecting the packing-ring to the directl action of the pressure of the column of water above the ring, this seizure of the lip of the packing-ring is'avoided, and the same enters and as efficiently packs irregular portions of the well as it does the regular and smoothly formed portions.

By providing the well-tubing with the sleeve, and combining the support for said sleeve with the coupling for the sections of the well-tubing, and providing means for the escape of gas either through a separate pipe or through the well-tubing carried by said coupling, the cost of construction is greatly reduced, and in fact the packer is reducedlto its lowest terms.

While for the purpose of illustrating the invention, I have shown a number of the forms which the invention mayl assume, it is to be expressly understood that it is not designed thereby to exclude ,other forms in which the essential feature of the invention, to wit, a tubular element provided with upper and lower shoulders rigid therewith, between which a packing-ring is capable of longitudinal movement so as to contact with said shoulders, is present.

What is claimed is 1. In an oil-well packer, the combination of a tubular element having upper and lower shoulders rigid therewith, and a packingring longitudinally movable on said tubularl element into Contact with said shoulders.

2. In an oil-well packer, the combination of a tubular element supported by tlie welltubing, upper and lower shoulders rigid with y of a tubular element having upper and lower shoulders rigid therewith, one of said shoulders being formed on a coupling for the welltubing, and a packing-ring longitudinally movable on said tubular element into contact with saidshoulders. Y

5. In an oil-well packer, the combination of a tubular element surrounding the welltubing and supported thereon by a coupling for the latter, upper and lower shoulders rigid with said tubular element, one of s aid shoulders being formed on said coupling, and a packing-ring longitudinally movable on said tubular element into contact with said shoulders.

6. In an oil-well packer, the combination or a tubular element surrounding the welltubing and supported thereon by a coupling for the latter, means carried by said coupling for permitting the escape of gas, upper and lower shoulders rigid with saidgtu- Isa bular element, and a packing-ring longitudinally movable on said tubular element into contact with said shoulders.

7. In a packer for oil-wells, the combination of a tubular element surrounding the well-tubing and supported thereon by a coupling for the latter, .means carried by said coupling for permitting the escape of gas 4through said tubular element, upper and tubular element, and a packing-ring longitudinally movable on said tubular element `into contact with. said shoulders.

9. In a packer for oil-wells, the combination of a tubular element surrounding the well-tubing and supported thereon by a coupling for the latter, one of the ends of said tubular element being also closed by4 said coupling and the other end of said tubular element being open, means carried by said coupling for permitting the escape of gas, upper and lower shoulders rigid with said tubular element, andA a packing-ring longitudinally movable on said tubular element into contact with said shoulders. y

10. I-n an oil-well packer, the combination of a tubular element surrounding the welltubing, a coupling for the' sections of the well-tubing to which said tubular element is rigidly secured, means carried by said coupling for permitting the escape of gas, a shoulder formed on said coupling, a second shoulder supported by said tubular element, and a packing-ring longitudinally movable on said tubular element into contact with said shoulders.

11. In an oil-well packer, the combination of a well-tubing, a couplin for the sections of said tubing, a tubular e ementsurroundlng the well-tubing and supported by said coupling, one end of said tubular element being closed by said coupling, an opening extending vertically through said coupling, a gas-escape pipe fitting into said opening and supported by said coupling, upper and lower shoulders rigid with said tubular element, one of said shoulders being formed on said coupling, and a packing-ring longitudinally movable on said tubular element into contact with said shoulders.

12. In an oil-well packer, the combination of a tubular element having upper and lower shoulders rigid therewith andv axj packingring longitudinally movable on sald tubular element into contact with said shoulders, said ring being provided with an upwardly and outwardly flaring lip engaged and eX- panded by said upper shoulder.

13. In an oil-well packer, the combination of a tubular element having upper and lower shoulders rigid therewith, and a packing-ring longitudinally movable on said tubular elementinto contact with said shoulders, said .packing-ring being rovided with an upwardly and outwardly aring lip and an upwardly and inwardly sloping lip, said upper shoulder entering between said lips and forcing the same into packing position when said ring is in its uppermost position.

14. In an oil-well packer, the combination of a tubular element having upper and lower shoulders rigid therewith and a packingring longitudinally movable on said tubular element into contact with said. shoulders, said lower shoulder being undercut to receive the lower end of the packing-ring to force it intointimate packing relation with said tubular' element.

15. In a packer for oil-wells, the combination of a tubular element having upper and lower undercut shoulders rigid therewith, and a packing-rin longitudinally movable on said tubular e ement into intimate contact with said shoulders. In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

CHARLES H. SASLEY.

Witnesses z WM. B. GRIFFEN, JOHN L. MCBBIDE. 

